Friday, 30 May 2014

Think
like if you have opened a brick and mortar store on a street at your hometown!
It is no difference!

A traditional store, requires some work from your side. First you decorate your
store, to make it attractive to the buyers- same is true for your online store!
A nice Background, a nice AVATAR, an attractive shop banner- all the above
contribute to have a nice online store!

You make a nice store front with a beautifully decorated window, which will
catch the eye of the people on the street and make them to walk in- same on
your online store! You should have lots of photos! This is your window- this is
what the potential buyer will see! This is what will attract him/her to start
buying.

Imagine that you open your brick and mortar shop, and you place on your window
only one or two items! How it will look like? And imagine that this items does
not show well, the light is bad, they are small and far away from the window
front. Same is true on your online store! You must have a lot of pictures, nice
pictures, proper light, proper size, for the potential buyers to be attracted.

However, do you stop there? Is this all you will do for your traditional store?
Of course not! You will not open your store, sit inside, and wait for the
customers to walk in! Instead, you will start advertising it! You will go
around and spread the word that you have a store! First in your own
neighborhood, and then you will tell your friends, siblings, and everybody you
will meet out there! You will go to gatherings, family meetings, classmate
reunions, exhibitions, fairs, and you will promote your store!

Same
for your online store. Only here, online, you will have the Social Media and
the Search Engines to work with. However, believe me; it is no different from
the real life out there.

You will meet people online, and you will bring them on your online store! In
addition, when you will bring them, make sure that they will like your store
(see above).

Be natural and consistent, these are the great tools to succeed online (as it
is to succeed off line)

Here on MyMisi, we publish several tips and advice to help you. Read them, and
try to do your best. Success is not happening instantly, needs time and effort.

The only difference between your traditional store and your online one, is that
online you can meet far more people than off line. Follow some simple rules,
for your virtual store, exactly as you would have done on your brick and mortar
store, and you will be amazed from the success.

We are here to help. Leave a comment, ask a question, and we will come back to
you asap.

On our previous posts, we suggested that you promote your
store on social media. This is the one most important thing to do besides
having nice items in your store.

On this post we will try to be more specific with what exactly
should you do when you start promoting your store on Social Media. As social
media platforms are so many, we will examine each one separately and we will
start with the most popular one, Facebook.

On this post, we will give you specific instructions and
ideas of what to post, when to post and some insights of what Facebook can do
for you, in order to increase your sales.

We assume that you already have a Facebook page related to
your store on MISI or MYMISI. We designed these tips to advance your Store
Facebook page, however, many of them can also use for your personal Facebook
page.

The next time you are at any social gathering, party, lunch
or dinner with friends, pay attention to who people are most engaged with. Why
are people so engaged with a particular person? Inevitably, you will realize
that the people who are the most engaging are 1) the most interesting, 2) the
most attractive, or 3) the most engaged themselves.

Voila! You now know everything you need to know about
increasing the engagement between your customers and your Store on Facebook.

Well, there is a bit more to it. What is interesting to your
audience? How do you make yourself attractive through social media; and when,
how, and how often should you engage? These three qualities result in the highest
engagement and the most interaction, between people regardless of whether the
venue is real or virtual.

Facebook introduced EdgeRank, an algorithm that determines
what shows up in any given Facebook user’s news feed. The EdgeRank algorithm,
uses three components, each referred to as an “edge” (hence the name), to guide
what appears in users’ news feeds. These are affinity, weight, and time decay (or timeliness).

Affinity is
determined by the amount of interaction between any two given Facebook users.
The more your interact with a fan, the more likely your posts will show up in
that fan’s newsfeed.

Weight refers to
the type of post. A share, for example, carries more weight than a comment, a comment
is weightier than a Like, and a Like ‘weighs’ more than a click on the post.

Time Decay refers
to post timeliness. Like any piece
of news, the older it becomes, the less relevant and important it is, thus less
likely to appear in newsfeeds,

The lower your store’s EdgeRank is in a user’s Facebook
account, the less engaged your store would be with that user, and the fewer
opportunities you will have to engage. In fact, on average, only about 4 to 17
percent of a business page’s posts show up in a fan’s news feed. With that, let
us look at how to boost your edgerank.

A lot of the content people post on their Facebook page is
personal, everything from “My baby took its first steps today” to “I just had
the worst piece of pizza ever.” It is the kinds of things friends, family, and
co-workers share with each other because that is what friends are for -- to
share the highs and lows of your life.

However, this kind of post it is not good for business. They
will not drive your sales up!

Just how personal you get with your Facebook content depends
on your business. Little League scores, church socials, community gatherings,
are prime examples of great, personal content to share on your Facebook page if
yours is the type of business to which such things are suited. A related event
to your business, a major event on the news, can also be a start of an
interesting conversation. Avoid Politics, and Sports.

Sharing personal content makes your fan base feel connected to
your store, it makes you more human. People respond to that. Why not encourage
personal sharing from your fans too? Ask people to share something about
themselves in response to one of your posts.

Visual content

Visual content helps draw in and engage Facebook users. Facebook’s
research shows that photo albums, pictures, and videos increase engagement by
180 percent, 120 percent, and 100 percent, respectively, more than content without
visuals. Meanwhile asking Fans to write captions on your photos increases
engagement 5.5 times more than a standard post. However, please, do not just
ask people to like the image of your masterpiece, it is not the right approach.

Even something as simple as a smiley face emoticon in your
post can increase Likes by 57 percent, comments by 33 percent, and shares by 33
percent over posts without them. Emotions engage people even if they are just a
digital doodle.

Use pictures in your posts to attract the reader’s eye,
then, surround the picture with clever, compelling content to keep them
reading. Relate your images to your product, and drive them your store.

Be funny

Comedy helps a store connect to their audience. Store owners
that make people smile after a long day at the office, or better yet, laugh,
often have high levels of engagement. Humorous images, comics, and memes are
highly shareable content, as Facebook users want to share these images with
your friends, thus increasing your reach.

Humor can be simple, like a photo of a cute baby with a
funny caption, or a dog chasing his tail.

Be responsive

Just as people expect great customer service from you
in-store or on the phone, they look to your store to do the same on Facebook.

Believe it or not, 95% of stores do not respond to comments made
by Facebook users on Facebook. By responding to comments and questions promptly
on Facebook, you demonstrate your own high level of engagement and many of your
fans will be pleased. Why wouldn’t you take a minute to respond to your fans?
It is an easy way to increase engagement and create lasting relationships. If
fans bring up an issue with your store, try and respond to them quickly, in a
polite manner. Address their issues publicly, but if a particular matter
requires more personal help, have them email you or call you with their
concerns.

POST AT OPTIMAL TIMES

If a post falls in the Facebook forest and no one is around
to see it, does it make an impact? No. Take your type of business and your
audience demographic into consideration when planning the timing for your
Facebook posts. If your audience is most likely online searching for your
product in the evening, will a post at 10am generate a lot of likes, comments
and shares? Probably not. Because so much content is posted on Facebook each
day, you want your posts to be more relevant to your audience when you post
them, not eight hours later.

You may also see higher engagement during lunchtime, and close-to-close
time, as people tend to look for entertainment. Retail businesses may see an
increase in engagement on weekends when people have down time to do some online
shopping. Do some research and learn when your audience is online, both the
hours of the day and days of the week.

CONSIDER FREQUENCY

Post new and relevant content on Facebook to keep people
interested. The average half-life of a Facebook post is about three hours. Because
of this, it is a good practice to post more than once a day to get the most
engagement out of your posts. When your post is still part of the news feed or
is a highlighted story still receiving a steady flow of engagement, it is
considered “alive”.

DISCUSS CURRENT
EVENTS

Stay involved in the current conversations. If a holiday is around
the corner, odds are your fans are involved and talking about. Post an image of
something you are thankful for on Thanksgiving, or a romantic image on
Valentines day. Your fans are more likely to share something if it is relevant
and entertaining.

This does not stop at holidays. If something big is
happening on the news, incorporate it into your marketing campaigns. After a
tragedy, post your condolences. Not only does this get your fans involved, it
gives your store a human face, making fans feel more connected to your store.

ASK QUESTIONS

Try asking a question on your Facebook page so that your
Fans are inclined to answer questions. Here are some tips for asking questions:

Questions that ask “where,” “when,” or “should” are more
successful at engaging Fans than asking “why” -- which seems to generate the
lowest amount of Likes or comments.

Asking for feedback (such as “Tell us how you feel about”)
on your products and services will prompt Fans to express themselves, something
which by now, you know, Facebook users love to do.

Know your audience

Know as much as you possibly can about your audience. The
more you know about your audience, the more effectively you can develop content
tailored to their likes. Use everything you have learned about your customers’ offline
and online to gain an understanding of who they are and what they are
interested in. Are they male or female, young or old (or both)? Are they
price-sensitive or fashion-conscious? Do they come in based on need or
instinct?

Mix it up

Mix up the type of content you post on your Facebook page.
Go from humorous one day to heartfelt the next.

The more variety you have in your Facebook posts, the more
entertaining your page will be.

Post ideas

Photos of happy customers- after all they bought from you to
use your masterpiece! Ask them to send you a photo while they are wearing your
jewelry, your jacket, or while their baby wears these amazing knitted shoes.

Humorous jokes and images

Poll your audience for fun or research

Ask fans to fill in the caption of a photo

Invite subscribers

Facebook logos are so ubiquitous they are easily overlooked --
even if the logo is clearly on your Store with the words “follow us!”

People are busy. You did not ask them to like your store and
so it did not occur to them to do it. People may be aware that you are on
Facebook but since you have not asked or provided an incentive for them to engage
with you there they simply have not. Provide an incentive; it does not have to
be expensive to be valuable.

Post new product tips

Pin posts

You can increase engagement of specific posts by pinning
those posts. Pinning a post places it front-and-center (well, actually, top and
left) of your timeline for seven days (or until you unpin it). It’s the first
post people will see, and comes with a little orange flag on the right side of
the post to draw attention to it. Pinning a post is easy. Use this tactic sparingly
to gain attention for your best posts, the ones you know your audience engages most
with, or the ones you want the most people to interact with.

If you want your Fans to be more engaged with your store on
Facebook, the answer is clear: Be more engaging. You need to be the social
media equivalent of the life of the party. Tell funny stories, get personal, be
personable, catch their eye with something visually appealing.

Be as engaged with your Fans as you want them to be engaged
with you. Ask questions, take an interest in what people have to tell you,
share good news, promote a worthy cause and ask your friends to help you in the
endeavor.

Getting more engagement on Facebook isn’t rocket science.
But it is marketing science. Put the social in your social media and use your
inbound marketing expertise and analytics to make it all work better.

Read and comment on this post- Ask questions, we are here to
help you sell more! Share this post with your fellow crafters; share it on your
Facebook, on your Google Plus, your LinkedIn group. This will create a healthy
discussion and the whole community will benefit from new ideas, based on this
post. Other community members may have some more attractive ideas, how you will
find out if you do not discuss with them? Make sure that you receive our
newsletter, and visit our forum. There are many answers there to your
questions.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Instead of the usual coupons, why not give dad some fun tokens this year.

What you need:

* small round tin (i got mine at michaels - it's about 4" in diameter)
* one sheet of black cardstock
* two or more sheets of white cardstock (depending on how many tokens you make)
* sheet of tokens
* black ink pad
* scissors

Step one: print your tokens, then punch out with 3" punch.

Step two:
trace and cut out white circles a little larger than your tokens. i
used a large soup can. (you can probably use a cricut for this) then
trace and cut out one black circle for the lid of your tin. this needs
to be bigger than your white circle, but not bigger than the lid.

Step three: ink the edges of your white circles.

Step four:
adhere tokens to your white circles. (adhere the black one for your
lid) then have your child(ren) write things they are willing to do for
their dad on the tokens. make sure to have them sign their names too.

Monday, 26 May 2014

Some sellers complain, on MISI Forum that they have many
views but no sales! Did you ever thought
what might be the problem and so many people are visiting your store, and
checking on your products but they do not buy? MISI and MYMISI do extensive
marketing to bring potential buyers to you, but they cannot force them to buy
from you!

The following notes, worth your attention, in order to see
your sales skyrocketing on MISI and MYMISI.

1. You do not have
enough items.

A sparse storefront
with less than a page of listings looks abandoned and untrustworthy. While
there are always some exceptions, generally a robust store with at least 2 or
more pages to browse through translates that you are keeping your stock updated
and tended to.

Your product
photography “could use some work.”

Blurry photos, photos with too much distracting background
clutter, and images with flash glare spots are not doing your products any
favors. Even fairly decent photos could be replaced with high-quality, more
enticing images to up your sales. MISI-MYMISI is a very visual selling platform
(with a frequent rate of being bookmarked to Pinterest), and so better photos
almost always equals more sales.

When an item expires without selling, consider trying some
new photos for the next go-round. Sometimes all it takes is trying out a
cleaner background, placing the item on a model (if it is wearable), or
otherwise showing the item “in action” or with better lighting.

You forgot to include
dimensions.

It can be hard to tell from a photograph, even one taken
next to a standard-sized object such as a dime or ruler, just how large or
small a product is. Whenever possible, include dimensions that are easy to spot
in your product descriptions. Plus, if you want to go above and beyond, include
them in cm and inches to appease all onlookers. The less work you make people
have to do or think about, the more likely they are to buy.

Your descriptions are
lacking.

Sure your necklace may be pretty, but simply telling me
“Pretty necklace, 16 inches” isn’t really convincing enough. I want to know
what it is made out of, who it would be a good gift for, and what type of
fabric it would look fantastic against. Flesh out your descriptions with plenty
of features AND benefits and your potential customers will be that much more
likely to see themselves owning it.

You just got started.

If it’s only been a week and you’re wondering why you’re not
rolling in MISI-MYMISI sales then, uhm, you need to be more patient my friend.
These things take time. It can take some time to get yourself established and
building trust with your fans and potential customers. Like snowballs, we all
start small.

You’re not on social
media.

No, I am not advocating that you start spending [read:
wasting] hours of your daily time on Facebook or Twitter, but I am recognizing
that social media can be a valuable channel to bring customers back to your MISI-MYMISI
shop. Pinterest and Instagram especially, due to their mostly visual nature.

If you think your target customers are there, then having a
presence on specified social media platforms can bring in customers who may not
otherwise be perusing MISI-MYMISI for handmade trinkets to purchase. Just make
sure you are being strategic about your time on social media, as it is too
valuable to waste on distractions and notifications.

Your items do not
stand out.

If you are selling the same bracelet as at least 12 other
Sellers on MISI-MYMISI, then you are competing on price. (That is a race to the
bottom you really do not want to be a part of.) Being unique and different is
the easiest and most sincere way to direct browsers to your MISI-MYMISI shop.
And when other less creative sellers catch on and start copying you? You will
already be developing and listing even more unique and different products for
them to scramble over.

You are not being
featured outside of MISI-MYMISI.

Outside-of-MISI-MYMISI features have the potential to bring
in hundreds of targeted eyeballs directly to your MISI-MYMISI shop. If your
stats are dwindling, or you simply want to expand your reach, consider reaching
out to bloggers and websites that feature MISI-MYMISI sellers for interviews,
giveaways, or product reviews.

You are not
optimizing your titles.

In order to be found within MISI-MYMISI’s relevant search
algorithm, you have to be using titles and tags that people are actually typing
into the search bar when trying to find items similar to yours. Try as best you
can to think of your product from a browser’s point of view. If you sell
handbags for example, people are more likely to be typing in “Red Leather Tote
Bag” into the search bar instead of “Sophia Leather Darling.”

You are cramming too much into your titles.

To maximize your chances of being found, choose different
keyword phrases for different products to emphasize which ones will be found
and ranked for different search terms. If you try to stuff every possible
keyword and search phrase into a single title, it is confusing to buyers and
makes you look more like a robot than a seller. It makes more sense to cover
more ground with multiple products than relying simply on one to get found by
everyone.

Your target market is
not clear.

People like to step into a shop–even an online one–and think
to themselves, “This place is for me!” If your target market is too scattered,
however, then buyers are likely to get confused and overwhelmed. If you serve
two or more completely different target markets, you may want to consider
opening up a second MISI-MYMISI shop to make your individual shop’s branding
more cohesive.

You ignore your
current customers.

Acquiring new customers is great — but it is just as
important (even more so, in fact) to nurture your current customers. By
providing your best quality of customer service, you can insure not only repeat
business, but word-of-mouth recommendations (which are far more trustworthy
than any self-promotion you could do on your part.)

Making your current customers feel appreciated and taken
care of goes a long way towards building up your reputation as a quality seller
of great products.

You do not accept
custom orders.

Often times browsers will LOVE something they find in your
shop, only they wish they could get it in a different color, size, or quantity
than they see listed. Accepting custom orders from these people can make a
measurable difference in your sales, and can even allow you to charge a premium
price for the additional labor involved.

Your shop is all over
the place.

A cohesive shop not only speaks of a strong brand, but keeps
the browser from feeling overwhelmed with scattered product options. A little
tailoring and trimming goes a long way towards presenting a more fluid
storefront.

You have not listed
anything new in a loooooong time.

Even if your products are great, there are always going to
be previous customers and fans who want to see what else you can bring to the
table. Fresh products can spruce up your shop and possibly bring the option
that is just what some of your fans have been waiting for.

You never talk about
your shop in person.

Whenever you can: blab about your MISI-MYMISI store. Word-of-mouth
is huge, and that includes word-of-mouth coming from you! Always carry business
cards, and pass them out whenever the opportunity arises. If you are
embarrassed to talk about your MISI-MYMISI shop, how can you expect other
people to do it for you? Bring it up whenever the opportunity arises, and
really become your own #1 fan. The trust you express in your own business
instills trust in others to make purchases.

You do not network
with other sellers.

There is power in the ability to work with other sellers.
What we can accomplish together is exponential compared to what we can do on
our own. Do not be afraid to reach out for advice or to offer help in the MISI-MYMISI
forums, on teams, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook groups, or in-person. There is a
lot we could learn from each other, and plenty of collaboration possibilities
available. Not to mention, being a work-from-home seller can get rather lonely
after a while, and networking can offer a sense of community and camaraderie
that you may feel a sense of lack in currently.

You are not blogging.

Blogging for your business is a gradual, but very possible
way to build trust with your potential customers, establish yourself as an
authority, and bring in the sales. By providing the kind of content that your
target customers will be enthralled with, you will be able to sell your
products to your audience in a non-salesy way that actually keep your products
moving from the shelves. There is a finesse and art to blogging, but the best
way to learn it is by starting now and consistently keeping it up.

You are not tracking
where the views are coming from.

MISI-MYMISI’s STATS feature makes it pretty easy to see
where your visitors are coming from. This lets you know, for example, if all
the time you’ve been plugging into Twitter is actually bringing in the eyeballs
you think it is. And if not? Trial and error will help you decide with
activities bring the best results.

Just remember: not all traffic is created equal. You do not
want to get so obsessed with numbers that you start trying to pull in traffic
from anywhere and everywhere just to watch them go up. What’s important is that
those numbers are representing members of your Ideal Customer audience, so that
they are the most likely to actually purchase from you.

Your shop looks
neglected.

If you still have “Christmas SALE” written in your shop
banner even though it is well past March, it looks like you are not tending to
your shop as you should be. Just as with the sparse listings mentioned above,
this will make browsers feel less trustworthy of you as a seller, and therefore
be that much more less likely to buy.

You take your sweet
time to ship.

Unless you specifically state long shipping times in your
shop policies, announcement, and each and every product description, people
expect their items to be sent out right away. We are an impatient bunch, and
with sites like Amazon offering next-day shipping options, the competition is
fierce. Sending out orders as soon as possible will make a huge difference in
your shop’s credibility, and how you are viewed from a customer service
perspective.

You look like a
faceless corporation.

Most shoppers on MISI-MYMISI want the personal touch of
buying form an individual, or at least from a small company. If everything
looks like it has been taken from a stock photo website, and there is little to
no voice in your written content, you may be getting confused with a massive
reseller as a brand. A few personal touches, sprinkled in your product
descriptions, photography, and packaging can go a long way in having you
recognized as the one-of-a-kind individual you are.

You copy other
sellers.

If you think people can’t tell, they can. Sure, you may get
a few sales riding on someone else’s coattails, but not for long, and not from
the kind of loyal customers you want to be attracting. Stick to being original,
unique and freshly YOU and you’re bound to find more success that you can
actually feel proud of.

You do not pay
attention to suggestions.

If you have customers who frequently say, “Oooh, you should
make this!” and you are consistently setting your phasers to ignore, then you
are basically ignoring potentially reliable revenue streams. Sure, there are
going to be a few ideas that are brought to your attention that you will
instinctively know aren’t a good fit for your brand, but at least take the time
to consider each one and the possibility of what offering it could do for your
shop.

You’re breaking
copyright or trademark laws.

Once again, please be original. Come up with your own shyte.
If you get in trouble breaking either copyright or trademark laws it could cost
you a lot more than your MISI-MYMISI shop getting shut down. It’s not worth the
risk and it doesn’t make you look very good either. Become a fan of your own
stuff, and that enthusiasm will spread to your customers. Really.

Your prices are too
low.

When your prices are deeply discounted the average passerby
will probably think “what’s wrong with this product” or possibly, they will
assume that you aren’t really shipping from the region you claim you are, or
that your manufacturing process isn’t as you state. All of these things may be
contributing to unsold inventory, without even mentioning the the fact that you
could be setting yourself up to go out of business through net losses if your
stuff actually was to sell. All important to consider.

Your prices are too
high.

This is rarely the case although many sellers instantly go
to this as the potential reason for their lack of sales.

It makes more sense to re-phrase: your prices are too high
for the customers you are targeting.

There, that’s better.

If you want to continue to sell at the more affluent prices
then you need to be targeting a more affluent market via your promotion and
branding. If you tend to have branding that focuses more on the bargain
hunters, such as frequent sales or discounts, then you may need to calculate
what options you have for bringing your average anchor price lower.

You forget to respond
to messages.

Even if the answer is no to a particular question or custom
request, the proper customer-service-oriented response is to reply back
courtesy, preferably within 24 hours.

You’re waiting
instead of working.

The sales come in when you’re busy taking action. Whether or
not their are orders flowing, continue to create and design your products,
promote and market, and develop your brand. Too often sellers will take a
specific action – and then waste time waiting to see the results. The results
are going to come whether or not you are refreshing your stats page every few
minutes instead of working on blog posts or product lines. Yes, keep track and
measure the results of your actions, but don’t let the stats distract you from
pressing forward. As they say, success likes to find you working.

You aren’t offering
combined shipping.

Offering a discount or free shipping on additional items can
be a huge incentive for your customers to purchase more than one thing when
they buy from your store. A flat rate or low-add-on cost simply makes sense,
especially from the customer’s point-of-view. If your items are super heavy,
consider adding some of the shipping cost into the cost o your items rather
than completely within the shipping rate, as a massive sticker shock there can
be a major turn-off.

You’re making it all
about YOU.

Yes you want your unique personality, story, and brand to
shine through your shop. However, at the end of the day, your potential
customers want to know what’s in it for THEM. Stick to emphasizing what THEY’LL
get out of working with you and owning your products, and hone in on the
details that matter most to them, not you.

You don’t offer multiple payment options.

While PayPal will probably remain the most popular online
payment method, there are still several people who would rather use their
credit card, or even send in a money order to make a purchase. If you can, more
options usually means more potential sales for your MISI-MYMISI shop, so
provide as many as you can and feel secure doing.

You don’t have an
avatar image.

Now that just looks shady. Build instant trust by posting up
your face or at least your logo or a product image.

There. Much better.

You haven’t filled
out your shop policies.

While it’s true that most people won’t read these (unless
they’re making a very expensive purchase), many will often click over for a
quick glance. If the spaces are blank, your trustworthiness instantly drops to
near non-existence.

Your “trendy”
products are outdated.

If you are selling on-trend items, then you will need to pay
close attention to the fluctuations of what’s HOT and what’s NOT. If you’re
still selling MySpace spoof items, for example, then you probably aren’t being
sought-after in the searches. Unless you’re going for the nostalgic route, of
course.

Your shop is flooded
with spelling and grammar mistakes.

Mistakes happen. I know, I happen to be one of
the worst offenders of not noticing a glaring headline mistake until much later
(or having to be told.) However, it does pay to take a second to read over your
descriptions, titles, and check your tags before hitting the publish button.
Too many “human mistakes” will make you appear unprofessionalMake sure you receive our newsletterWe send several newsletters to our sellers, with tips and precious information. Make sure that you receive them, and they do not end to your junk folder. Contact us and we will give you a ton of advice how to promote your store effectively, without spending money and most important without spending precious time. Read our blogs, and visit our forum, You will also find precious advice on how to increase your sales. If something is not clear, please ask- we will be more than happy to answer your questions, and you will help the MISI- MYMISI community as well.

Thursday, 15 May 2014

It happened to read a quite expensive (15 USD) eBook, recently, with advice to crafters / sellers on Etsy, on how to promote their shops on social media. This eBook has thousands of sales, and I freaked!!

Who really cares, unless (s)he is a relative, close friend or business partner, on what are you doing this very moment? Please think!

Advices like the above are common and I have seen it several times on various “tips” from “experts”. But at least the above tip says something- even it wrong to my humble opinion. I mean, we read that we should post on social media, but no one elaborates on what we should post, where, how, and what impact we should expect. I will try to describe, based on my best judgment, what we should and what we should do on Social media. And please remember, each social media platform needs a different approach, and we talk on using Social Media for Business!

But let’s start from the beginning. Why we use social media? To engage people! To make them to remember us, to visit our shop and buy something. This is why we do it. If you have a different approach, please write it on the comments section.
How we engage people? Well, let’s go back to basics. What we did on the pre- social media era?
We were going out to meet people! In family gatherings, classmate reunions, fairs and exhibitions and other occasions, too many to list here, but you got the idea.
What we were doing when we met people for the first time in one of the above events?

If we were not shy, we would introduce ourselves, shake hands and start a conversation.

Would you instantly tell the new guy in front of you, “Hi I am “Jane, Bill, or whatever,” and I am a crafter/artist/, here is my collection”? And hand them a nice brochure with photos of your products?
Of course not!
You would start a discussion, usually about the weather, or the event you are both attending, you would discuss about some other people who are on the same event, finding common interests, and BY THE WAY, in the course of the conversation, you would bring the matter that you are a crafter, and you do it as a prime or secondary job, and you are actually selling you crafts there and there etc. This is engagement!

So, why Social Media to be different? Why should we chose a different approach?
Start easy, and be consistent. Make new friends, by opening discussions or participating in discussions. Then – By The Way- tell them what you do- talk for your passion, and the love and soul you add on every masterpiece you are creating!

Monday, 12 May 2014

Pinterest is an
image-based social media site that allows you to share your cool things
that you find across the web! This article helps you to signup for an
account and get started.

Go to the Pinterest.com website. It's found at: http://www.pinterest.com.
If you don't have an account already, click "Signup" on the home page.
Check your email and click on the link that is sent to you to create an
account. Alternatively, you can signup thru Facebook too.

Log in. You can log in with either Facebook or Twitter. Create a password to go with it.

Click on images or items that catch your interest. Then click on "Follow People." Doing this will get you started on the site.

Check out the people you're now following. You can unfollow later, if you choose.

Monday, 5 May 2014

Ever wanted to chat
on Tumblr in a way that's more private than reblogging text posts and
more effective than simply messaging back and forth? While there is no
integrated chat feature for your tumblelog, there is a chatroom-like
Tumblr application known as Chatlr. By following the instructions in
this article, you'll learn how to set up and use Chatlr

Log in to Tumblr using the email and password associated with your account. Then go on to Chatlr.com.

You will be redirected to a Tumblr URL. Click the “Allow” button to allow the Chatlr application access to your Tumblr account.

You will be taken directly to the main Tumblr chat screen. Choose or create a room to chat in the bottom left corner.

Type your messages in the text input field along the bottom of the screen. Send them by hitting “Enter” on your keyboard.

Your messages and messages from others are shown the large panel on the right. You can publish chat posts consisting of these messages by clicking the on “Chat” icon at the top of your Tumblr dashboard.